Review: The Mystery of the Mischievous Marker

Title: The Mystery of the Mischievous Marker: A Mickey Rangel Mystery/El misterio del malvado marcador: Coleccion Mickey Rangel, detective privado
Author: René Saldaña, Jr.
Translator:  Carolina Villarroel
Publisher: Piñata Books
Pages: 38
Format: Paperback Bilingual Flip Book
Review Copy: Final version from publisher
Availability: On shelves now

Review: This is the third book in the Mickey Rangel series and it has convinced me that I need to find the other two. Mickey is a fifth grade detective. The book opens with Mickey sitting in the principal's office with no knowledge of why he is there. This creates quite a bit of stress for him as he wonders what she is going to say. He soon finds out that someone has been putting graffiti on school property and the principal would like Mickey to help her figure out who is doing it.

Mickey gets right to work to find out who has been leaving the graffiti messages. He's observant and also thinks up excellent questions as he digs for clues. I appreciated his sense of humor too. He tells about one Halloween when he dressed as a giant stool and his brother was a pigeon so they could be a stool pigeon. I am not certain that young readers will get that joke, but there are other reasons to smile.

Mickey also gets a little help in his work. There is a character he calls his "angel" that sometimes provides clues or prompts him with questions. This angel was in the other books too. I am curious to know if readers will ever find out the identity of this secretive angel.

I am always looking for interesting mystery books for younger readers. This is a series that would work well for readers who are ready to tackle a chapter book, but aren't ready for hundreds of pages. Another plus is that if you flip it one way, the text is in English and if you flip it the other, the text is in Spanish. I will be sure to find the other books in the series to read more about Mickey and his cases.

Review: Dale, Dale, Dale/Hit It, Hit It, Hit It

Title: Dale, Dale, Dale: Una fiesta de numeros/Hit It, Hit It, Hit It: A Fiesta of Numbers
Author: René Saldaña, Jr.
Illustrator: Carolyn Dee Flores
Publisher: Piñata Books
Pages: 32
Availability: On shelves now
Review Copy: A final copy was provided by the publisher

Summary: “Today is my birthday, and I am so excited. / One piñata filled with candy. / Two hours until the party. / Three tables set for all of the guests.” Mateo counts to twelve as he anticipates the fun he’ll have at his party! There will be family, friends and lots of goodies for the children: tops, marbles and even toy cars! But before the children can hit the piñata, they will sing the birthday boy a song and enjoy eating a delicious cake. And then Mateo will be “the happiest boy in the whole wide world,” because he gets to swing at the piñata first with everyone cheering him on: ¡Dale! ¡Dale! ¡Dale! -- Cover image and summary via publisher

Review: Dale, Dale, Dale is a counting book with a birthday setting. My favorite illustration is when Mateo counts five lucha libre masks. I think that will be a selling point with my students since they loved reading Niño Wrestles the World. Like many counting books, there isn't a whole lot of storyline happening, but it is still fun. Most children can relate to being excited about a birthday celebration. I think it would be great to read this along with Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales since that is also a birthday counting book.

The illustrations are bright and engaging. They totally make me smile. Of course, it would be difficult to read this without feeling the urge to hit a piñata so that would be the perfect extension activity - especially if readers count the swings.

Another plus is that the book is completely bilingual. The piñata song does lose a little in the translation to English though. It definitely sounds best in Spanish. I would have liked the music to go along with the book since I didn't know how the song goes, but there are many videos on YouTube that helped me that could also be used with students.

I will be happy to share this with my primary grade students. It's sure to bring smiles.